10 - The Tep Experiment

They shall be called the Arisen

Near the time of the Junes curse, a great and powerful
necromancer, Tep, solved the mystery of life and death. His research
discovered that every living substance is composed of a common, basic
component: the Spark of Life. This Spark resides in every living being
until such time as a “death” occurs, at which point it leaves the
corporeal body.

Many in Sarnaut called the Spark of Life a “soul” or a “divine essence,”
but Tep was far more pragmatic and left such questions to the
religious. He dedicated several years of study to finding a way to trap
a Spark. Hardly to be called a philanthropist, when Tep finally
succeeded in capturing one, he kept this formula to eternal life to
himself. He built a great pyramid to house a prison for the Sparks
released by those who died.

His hubris led him to believe he would remain unnoticed, but the Zems – a
noble race of brave warriors and brilliant engineers – rose up against
him. During the battle, those who died found their Sparks trapped in
Tep’s pyramid. And it wasn’t until the final battle, when the last of
the Zem fell and Tep was finally defeated, that these Sparks were
freed.

The newly liberated Sparks rushed back towards their
mechanically-improved bodies, only to find them half rotted away.
Rising from their graves, they established a new race of people in
Sarnaut: they retained their minds and memories of their life before
death and collectively became known as the Arisen.

Though they managed to free themselves from Tep’s pyramid, it yet
remained and continued to capture the sparks of the unfortunate dead.

Tensess’ Gift of Life

Many years later, the Great Mage Tensess was slain during the
battle with a battle with the Astral demons and his spark, too, became
trapped with the pyramid prison. His Spark, however, was more powerful
than any other, and he was able to overcome the will of Tep.

His Spark summoned spirits, who became known as Servants of Tensess, to
help guide the Sparks trapped in that prison back towards the living.
Soon, all those upon the allods knew their fate: death was not an
ending, and their Spark would allow them to exist even after their
bodies had died. Anyone who performed the rite of purification in that
purgatory, would be returned to their bodies, alive and well again and
well able to fight another day.

Tensess bestowed this gift upon everyone in the allods, Empire and
League alike. It was his heart’s desire that old enemies would unite in
the face of their common foe: the Astral demons.